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Thursday, August 17, 2017

Dear
readers, like frequently mentioned on this blog IRONMAN became lifestyle,
posing and exaggeration of personality. It is not that those “iron-clowns” are
idiots, more it is money-business they follow.

So for many years already I hoped to do
something else as a hobby or as a semi-pro. The idea to
go cycle to Barcelona with flip-flops has the origin in my fiancées family live
there. Flip-Flops are the shoes on the Philippines. So I simply put it together
and started with an old trekking-bike bought by my dad in the late of the Eighties.

For the
route I used airplane-navigation mode (on sight). So I followed the Franconian
lakes to the river of Danube, followed Danube to its source to go South from there
until to the river of Rhine. Then I followed the Rhine till Basel, where I swam
through the city and had an alcoholfree beer at the Suisse military base there after. From Switzerland I headed the French and not the Swiss Jura. French Jura is farer in kilometers but less in maximum altitudes. Following
the river of Ain I by-passed Lyon in the East in order to south again at the river of Rhone, surrounded
Montpellier in the North to break through to the French coast at Lespingon.
From there I headed the Pyreenes having had the Mistral as a companion.All the trip the weather
was good but subtropical and sometimes tropical heat in degrees of temperature in the Mediteranean. Finally
I arrived at Costa Brava for the final kilometers at tourist area, easy
pace to Barcelona, where me I myself was welcomed very warmly. Thank you for this this way on here and friends also.

arrival in Barcelona (central)

here, this is the tours data:

M 31st
of July: 131k / 7:14 hrs

T 1st
of August: 148k / 7:53 hrs

W 2nd: 133k
/ 7:31 hrs

T 3rd : 137k / 6:51 hrs

F 4th : 48k / 2:48 hrs (half day off / swam through Basel)

S 5th : 128k / 7:02 hrs

S 6th : 134k / 6:55 hrs

half-time
at the region of Lyon, sum 1st week: 859 k

M 7th
: 115k / 5:44 hrs

T 8th : 61k / 2:55 hrs (half-day off / struggled with thunderstorm)

W 9th : 134k / 6:02 hrs

T 10th: 124k / 6:10 hrs

F 11th : 150k / 8:02 hrs

S 12th: 127k / 6:31 hrs

S 13th: 147k / 7:44 hrs

M 14th
: 81k / 4:04 hrs

sum: 1798k

All the
navigation has not been done by any electronical devices. I asked soldiers,
policemen, locals, travellers, tourists or let's simply say just people for
routing. My map was not that much detailed, so in some areas compass (a compass with a needle made out of iron...) was useful to switch to. The loadings on the bike had been 20 kilogramm. The route was hilly mostly and
flat areas had been very seldom. I slept in the open nature, four times at a camping-place. Meals were prepared by a simple cooker, sometimes I joined the good kitchens of Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain. Best kitchen in my humble opinion is the Philippinian...- like I had in Barcelona.

If you are wanted to be given an adivce, well, just do. All you need are three things: food, shelter and fuel… - and beer!

Now back here in Germany paperwork is waiting to be done and also preparation for the marathon in
Frankfurt on the Main late in October. My leg's muscle is ok now, so proper training should work again.